UN hails UK as global green finance hub

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) profiled the actions taken in the last 15 years to make environmental and social factors a core part of banking, capital markets, investment and insurance.

It revealed the UK has “evolved a distinctive model of innovation” in sustainable finance, with a focus on issues such as climate change.

The report points to a number of firsts in sustainable finance the country has achieved such as the UK being the first nation to require pension funds to state whether they took social and environmental issues into account in 2000 and undertaking the world’s first review of the implications of climate change for the insurance sector last year.

It recommends the country should establish a green bond hub, empower individuals with the right information on the sustainability performance of their investments and rethink housing finance to reduce energy costs and environmental impacts.

Nick Robins, Co-director of the UNEP Inquiry and co-author of the report, said: “London is not just a global financial centre but also a hub for green and sustainable finance. It is striking just how many key global initiatives are clustered in London – whether on responsible investment, green bonds, unburnable carbon, sustainable banking, climate disclosure or insurance risk.”

The report was released alongside the launch of a new initiative aimed at making London the world leader in green finance.